Stockbroker or driller? When Bill Boatman finished his Navy service he considered becoming a stockbroker. Instead, he went back to the job he had during college with a drilling contractor. In 1967 he had the opportunity to go out on his own and started General Drilling, Inc.
Today General Drilling operates 15 truck mounted drill rigs and two track drills, primarily in a 120-mile radius of their office near Indianapolis. They drill approximately 55% of the 60 million surface tons of limestone that are produced in the state. In July they bought two additional rigs and started drilling in south central Kentucky.
"We do the drilling in all six of Rogers' Indiana quarries and have helped out occasionally in Sandusky," said Boatman. "Typically we're drilling at a Rogers' site every day, often in several locations." General Drilling started working with RGI in the late '80s, as drilling got more costly and Rogers stopped doing drilling in-house. The bulk of their work is for production, although they do some overburden drilling at Bloomington, Mitchell and Owen Valley. Rogers is one of General Drilling's two largest customers.
Boatman noted that Rogers is very responsive in the supplier/customer partnership. "As part of the Supplier Partnering Process, we meet each week with Rogers' supervisors and work closely with explosives companies to coordinate work for the upcoming week," explained Boatman. "This way we avoid confusion and work toward a common goal. It decreases down time and increases efficient production for both of us."
"Rogers takes a lead in concepts and ideas in the industry", observed Boatman. "The SPP is an example of Rogers' innovative leadership, and it works very well for us," he said. "Quarry personnel go out of their way to help us with any problems we may have. Billie O'Neal has even brought supper out to our drillers when they had to work late! Our drillers are invited to RGI safety luncheons and included in RGI safety training sessions, something most quarries don't do."
General Drilling has its own safety director and two other employees who are MSHA certified trainers. The company provides all customers with a safety binder that lists all key safety information. Employees have their own handbook which explains General Drilling's Drug and Alcohol program, 401(k) plan, health, life, disability, medical and other fringe benefits. "We're fortunate to have very little turnover," said Boatman. "We still have our original employees - plus their children, now! More than half our employees have an immediate family member who also works here."
General Drilling employees also are active in industry associations, with their controller heading the Public Information & Education (PIE) Committee and their safety director on the Safety Committee for the Indiana Mineral Aggregates Association. Boatman teaches a course for the National Stone Association on contract drilling.
"By providing enough pieces of machinery and skilled manpower we feel we can meet the demand when it's needed," said Boatman. "It's our job to give the best service possible. This is especially important in a small company - because if we don't do it right, customers will go somewhere else, or do it themselves."
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